The small woman grasped the hand firmly and positioned herself to help in the extrication of the larger woman from the small enclosure. Slowly, limb by limb emerged until the surgeon’s entire body was standing outside of the car and extended to its full height. "I should practice my yoga more often."
Garrett looked down at her friend, the lopsided grin showing as she tried to make light of an awkward situation.
"Hey, don’t forget your phone." Danni picked it up and offered it to the surgeon. "Small isn’t it?"
"Yeah, I figured I’d have to have it with me all the time." Garrett took the phone and placed it back on her belt.
"Hey, Danni, hurry up. We’re about to start the game." Rosie was yelling at the top of her lungs. "What’s taking you so long?"
The small blonde turned, held up one finger and yelled back, "Be there in just a minute." She look at Garrett and asked, "Well, Doc, are you going to play or just watch?" There was a bit of sarcasm in her voice, as if to challenge her friend into the competition.
"If they’ll have me, you’re on." The competitive side was beginning to show as the surgeon accepted the challenge. "What say we make it more interesting. Loser buys breakfast. Deal?"
"You’re on! You know, some people say that I eat a lot," she reminded the doctor. "Let’s add to it. Winner picks where to eat."
"Alright, that only seems fair."
The two women made their way over to the softball field. Danni gave commentary as well as greetings to everyone they passed on their way. It amazed Garrett how her brief synopsis of each person was always in the positive light. It was as though she only saw the good in people and totally disregarded the bad.
"Hi, Danni, who’s your friend? I hope you’re not bringing in a ringer, are you?" There was a gentle teasing in the voice coming from the bespectacled young woman.
"Oh, hi! No, in fact, this is actually someone for your team, Dr. Porter. Let me introduce you to Dr. Garrett Trivoli, one of the new Trauma Fellows. Garrett, this is Jamie Porter, one of the E.R. Attending Physicians."
"Danni!" Rosie yelled across the field, "Danni, are you going to play or be master of ceremonies?"
The nurse shook her head allowing the short blonde hair to be tossed from side to side, "Jamie, I trust that you’ll do the rest of the introductions." She motioned to the group of the physicians assembled together. "I’ve got to get over there before Rosie strokes out."
She started across the field for several steps then stopped and turned back towards Garrett, "Hey, good luck!" She swiftly resumed her path and was soon welcomed into the rowdy bunch of her coworkers with the rhythmic chanting of "Danni, Danni, Danni!"
Garrett let a smile come across her face. "Is she that good or does she do wonders for the team spirit?"
Dr. Porter pushed her glasses up and said, "She is the best short stop the nurses have ever had, one heck of an all around player and a great moral booster at that. Have you played before, Garrett?"
The surgeon smiled as she thought of the wager, ‘So, you think you’re gonna win…huh?’ "Ah, when I was in college I played some."
"Any position in particular?"
The raven-haired woman let her face go into a feral smile. "No, I was always used as a utility player, so anywhere you need me will be fine."
"Come on, let me introduce you to the rest of the team before we get started." Jamie proceeded to go down the bench full of physicians introducing Garrett along the way.
********
It was exactly noon when an official looking pair of men strode out on to the field, one walking to the first base area while the other claimed home plate. The tall red haired man brushed off the plate. He stood looking at one team then the other. "Play ball!" He shouted and stood behind the plate with both hands resting on his hips. He waited patiently for the home team to take the field. The nursing staff huddled quickly and within a few seconds the circle of players and coaches let a mighty roar into the air, "Nurses Call the Shots!" It was as if the huddled bodies had exploded on to the field, each member running at top speed to get to the designated position. Determination was evident in the way they moved the ball around the infield to warm up. They were confident that they would win the game. After all, they had won last year giving them the home team advantage for this year.
"Batter Up!" The umpire yelled.
The first member of the Doctors team picked up a bat and settled into the batter’s box. It was Dr. Porter. Her stance wide, bat raised high as she waited for the first pitch. Nan, the manager of the nursing staff had the honors of delivering the ball high and inside.
"Ball one."
"Come on, Nan, let her hit it. She’ll never get it out of the infield." Danni teased from the short stop position. Her body ready for action as her right hand balled into a fist and hit into her glove.
Nan concentrated. She released the ball. The arc was perfect in height. Jamie gripped the bat sucking in a breath and timed her swing to meet the ball as it crossed the plate. Crack! The sound was solid as the ball ricocheted back on to the playing field. It was low and fast dropping to the ground a few feet in front of Danni. Reacting to the ball, the short stop charged into it and caught it on the first bounce. With lightening speed, the young woman had retrieved the ball from the pocket of her glove and fired it at the first baseman that caught it with ease. Rosie stepped on the bag with ball in glove. "OUT!" cried the umpire. The nursing staff on the sideline went crazy, chanting "Danni, Danni, Danni!"
Danni dusted off her hand and settled back into her position on the field. "One down, two more to go, Nan." She held her finger up in the air to remind the team of where the play would go. Satisfied that everyone knew, she readied herself for the next batter.
The tall surgeon sat watching from the bench. She was impressed with the small nurse’s athletic ability. She marveled at the level of intensity that the young blonde had for whatever she was doing. Garrett could tell already that this woman put her best effort into everything that she did. No matter how insignificant the activity, she gave it her all. ‘She has every right to be confident. Too bad she thinks she is going to win.’ The woman thought about her own ability as a slow smile began to take shape on her face.
Their turn at bat was over before Garrett had realized it. She was caught in the middle of daydreaming by someone shaking her shoulder.
"Garrett! Dr. Trivoli!" Jamie shook a little harder.
"Huh…oh yeah. Sorry, I was thinking about something." The surgeon was obviously startled.
"Here’s a glove for you to use. You okay with playing Center field?" The doctor pushed her glasses up.
"Sure, no problem." Garrett accepted the glove and slid her left hand into it.
"Thanks, it’s a good fit." She looked at Jamie and grinned. Her body reacted to the familiar feel of the glove. The familiarity of the game was all coming back to her as she stood and began trotting out to her position. It had been a long time, but it was like riding a bicycle…past abilities learned always came back.
"Batter up!"
A tall blonde male strode to the plate. John stood adjusting his batting glove and surveying the field. He stepped into the batter’s box and dug his left foot into the dirt. His hands wrapped tightly around the wooden bat as he raised it onto his right shoulder. Slowly and deliberately he took several practice swings into thin air as his eyes looked over the possible targets that would allow him to get on base. Satisfied that he had found the weak link in the Doctors’ team, he brought his focus onto the pitcher and waited for the ball.